Chronology of Coverage

Feb. 13, 2015

Jan. 11, 2015

Eureka column by Robin Marantz Henig explores growing efforts on part of computer scientists to teach robots to emulate a kind of morality when it comes to making decisions. MORE

Dec. 28, 2014

Ancient Arabian tradition of camel racing has taken a modern twist by using robotic jockeys. MORE

Dec. 25, 2014

Roundup of 2014's 10 best robotic home devices that could revolutionize domestic tasks including grill cleaner Grillbot, rockaRoo baby rocker and the Scooba 450 floor scrubber. MORE

Dec. 23, 2014

Robot named Hector and developed by researchers at Bielefeld University in Germany is first modeled on stick insect. MORE

Dec. 16, 2014

The Upshot; technological breakthroughs are enabling machines to do knowledge jobs and service jobs, in addition to factory and clerical work; digital technology has over 15-year period inserted itself into nearly every aspect of life even as job market has fallen into long malaise; many economists are not sure about whether technology will create as many jobs as it destroyed, which was the case with previous technological leaps (Series: Nonemployed). MORE

Dec. 2, 2014

Exhibit Robot Swarm, set to open at National Museum of Mathematics in Manhattan, involves swarms of small robots that react to footsteps of human visitors; exhibit, which museum says is nation's most technologically ambitious robotics exhibit, is based on simple mathematical laws of emergent behavior. MORE

Dec. 1, 2014

Joseph Silovsky’s play Send for the Million Men, based on 1927 execution of anarchists Sacco and Vanzetti, features robot he built called Stanley. MORE

Nov. 14, 2014

Accident involving two window washers on scaffolding at 1 World Trade Center has raised question of why skyscraper windows are not cleaned entirely by robots; answer from several experts is that humans do better job and that equipment for lowering workers down sides of buildings is necessary for other jobs as well. MORE

Oct. 23, 2014

Robotics scientists are pondering whether robotic technologies deployed in rescue and disaster situations should be quickly repurposed to help contain Ebola epidemic; problem is that mobile robots now lack the human levels of dexterity required in medicine and health care. MORE

Oct. 20, 2014

A study found that robotic surgery for benign gynecologic procedures had a higher rate of complication than conventional surgery, and was more costly. MORE

Oct. 14, 2014

Scientists have created robot that mimics motion of sidewinder rattlesnake, which is adapted to traveling over loose sand; discovery has practical applications for robots operating in sandy environments. MORE

Sep. 29, 2014

Bangkok Journal; Thai government will unveil device that promoters say can scientifically evaluate food in order to determine whether it is genuine Thai cuisine; robotic taster, developed by government-financed Thai Delicious Committee, is aimed particularly at combating proliferation of bland Thai food overseas. MORE

Sep. 28, 2014

Wonder Workshop, founded by Saurabh Gupta, Vikas Gupta and Mikal Greaves, is among a new crop of companies seeking to teach computer programming to children through play and robotics; crowd-sourced company sprang out of frustration with the dearth of programming education opportunities for young children. MORE

Sep. 16, 2014

Photo depicts spot on 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko where robot Philae will land in November, first-ever such soft landing on comet. MORE

Sep. 9, 2014

International team of archaeologists plans to return to site of ancient shipwreck off Greek island of Antikythera, newly armed with advanced diving suit known as the Exosuit; robotic suit has self-contained life-support system and is intended to allow diver to work for long periods at depths of more than 1,000 feet, avoiding time-consuming decompression periods. MORE

Sep. 2, 2014

Photo depicts efforts by North Carolina State University researchers, who are trying to turn a living moth into a remote-controlled robot, or biobot. MORE

Sep. 2, 2014

Robots have made enormous strides in terms of artificial intelligence and mechanical tasks, but continue to lack even basic perception and mobility skills, factors that keep them from interacting successfully with humans; key issue is the lack of a sense of touch; roboticists are focusing on promising new inroads in haptics and kinematics in order to emulate this highly-developed human faculty. MORE

Aug. 12, 2014

Justin Gillis By Degrees column; scientists are testing robot prototypes designed to collect temperature and other data from ocean depths in effort to shed more light on progress of global warming; some scientists believe that deep ocean is absorbing heat that would otherwise show up in surface water or in air. MORE

Aug. 12, 2014

Starwood Hotels' Aloft hotel in Cupertino, Calif, will begin testing a robot designed to shuttle items from the hotel lobby desk to guest rooms; robotic bellhop is designed by Silicon Valley start-up Savioke; International Federation of Robotics reports 16,067 professional service robots were sold internationally in 2012, up 2 percent from 2011. MORE

Aug. 8, 2014

Creation of robot made of composite paper that can fold itself and start working without any intervention from operator is reported in journal Science; robot, created by Harvard graduate student Samuel Felton, is inspired by origami, Japanese paper-folding art. MORE

Jul. 29, 2014

Scientists at Research Center on Sea Technologies and Marine Robotics in Italy are working to develop robotic octopus, called PoseiDrone, that has flexibility and dexterity to explore tight spaces, repair dangerous equipment or even conform to human body. MORE

Jul. 20, 2014

Op-Ed article by geriatrics Prof Louise Aronson calls for research on and development of robot caregivers for the elderly; contends need for such caregivers stems from lack of qualified and willing humans to do the job. MORE

Jul. 9, 2014

Maureen Dowd Op-Ed column expresses concern about development of artificial intelligence and increasingly capable robots by companies like Google; notes that while artificial intelligence is largely fantasy, robots putting people out of work is a very real possibility. MORE

Jun. 17, 2014

Experts are beginning to worry about dangers posed by robots that work alongside humans in factory settings; safety concerns are growing as robots become more autonomous, moving freely among workers rather than being confined to cages. MORE

Jun. 10, 2014

Two studies by researchers at Virginia Tech suggest cars would be safer if robots replaced humans as drivers; find even cars that are not fully autonomous but automate some dangerous aspects of driving could have as big an effect on safety as seatbelts have had. MORE

May. 6, 2014

American company Sanaria has teamed up with Harvard Biorobotics Laboratory to create robot that can dissect half-frozen mosquitoes with tiny needles to extract their salivary glands, task that now requires line of trained humans with microscopes; project is part of effort to develop unique malaria vaccine using parasites inside glands. MORE

Apr. 26, 2014

Liberty Science Center in Jersey City is capitalizing on 40th anniversary of game Rubik's cube with $5 million exhibition; exhibit features 18-karat gold Rubik’s cube and a cube-solving robot that is no match for speed cubers, as competitors who try to beat the clock are known; architecture professor Erno Rubik, who has toured exhibit, invented cube in 1974 as solution to a structural problem. MORE

Apr. 23, 2014

Dairy operations across New York State are turning to robotic milkers, which feed and milk cows without the help of farmhands; robots allow for variety of improvements, including providing cows with individualized service and monitoring amount and quality of milk produced; trend is driven primarily by need for cutting labor costs and difficulties in procuring dependable workers. MORE

Apr. 8, 2014

Study in journal Connection Science reports that computer scientists have created robots that can teach other robots, and ultimately to outperform their teachers. MORE

Apr. 6, 2014

Investments in cloud computing, personalized medicine, robotics and other tech innovations brought big returns for some mutual funds in the first quarter of 2014. MORE

Mar. 27, 2014

Gadgetwise blog; consumer robotics field has become a $1.6 billion industry, with task-oriented robots accounting for roughly half; trend is bringing the long-held fantasy of robotic servants closer to reality. MORE

Mar. 2, 2014

Anne Eisenberg Novelties column; remote-controlled robots on wheels, or telepresence machines, may soon become inexpensive enough for more everyday use, as a conduit for virtual visits among family and friends; robots may also prove helpful to the elderly. MORE

Feb. 23, 2014

Robots are being employed by Border Patrol as means of policing drug-smuggling tunnels between border of United States and Mexico, serving as eyes in places considered too risky for humans to explore. MORE

Jan. 26, 2014

Some couples are deploying robots to assist at their wedding ceremonies, taking on tasks like photography or videotaping, or even more. MORE

Jan. 23, 2014

Damon Darlin State of the Art column says iRobot's Roomba 880 vacuum has the same hockey-puck look as the previous models, but does a superior job in cleaning dirt and pet hair; notes the $700 price may scare off prospective buyers. MORE

Dec. 25, 2013

Companies across the country are shifting more production to robotics; many are expanding their commercial footprint with a new addition or in some cases, excavating for a lower floor to accommodate recent influx of extremely heavy live-in robots. MORE

Dec. 23, 2013

Pentagon's Darpa Robotics Challenge 2013 Trials, international competition to pave the way for new generation of rescue robots, is dominated by a team of Japanese roboticists who were students of Hirochika Inoue, pioneer in the design of intelligent humanoid machines. MORE

Dec. 21, 2013

Darpa Robotics Challenge, more than just a showcase for a new generation of robots, is federal organization Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's attempt to push technology forward and create machines that can perform dangerous tasks in place of humans; agency is offering $2 million prize in 2014 to team that creates a robot that can perform tasks called for in a disaster. MORE

Dec. 14, 2013

Google confirms that it has completed acquisition of Boston Dynamics, bringing significant cachet to company's robotic efforts; Boston Dynamics, known for its machines that walk with uncanny sense of balance and run faster than humans, is eighth robotics company Google has acquired in last half-year. MORE

Dec. 4, 2013

Google has quietly acquired seven technology companies in effort to create new generation of robots, led by engineer Andy Rubin, who built company's Android software; company hopes to automate electronics assembly and even rival Amazon in retail delivery. MORE

Dec. 3, 2013

California company Knightscope has developed mobile robot, known as K5 Autonomous Data Machine, to be used as safety and security tool for corporations as well as for schools and neighborhoods; robot has raised concerns regarding privacy and, at an operating cost of $6.25 an hour, the loss of low-wage security jobs filled by humans. MORE

Oct. 29, 2013

Scientists are designing robots with more human-like qualities, in shift away from machine-like robots made to perform in factories; new robots are designed not just to replace but to collaborate with humans. MORE

Oct. 22, 2013

Seven teams of students, engineers and software hackers are working with humanoid Atlas robots manufactured by research firm Boston Dynamics as part of contest held by Pentagon's Defense Advanced Research Projects; aim of contest is to accelerate work in field of robotics by prototyping machines that can work autonomously in emergencies; limits of robots show how far technology has to go. MORE

Oct. 17, 2013

Tool Kit column; gadgets that mix, smoke and cook can make a tailgate or holiday party much less stressful, including a robotic bartender. MORE

Oct. 15, 2013

Solar industry, with the price of panels falling, is looking to labor savings to achieve its goal of make solar energy cheaper than natural gas; several companies are developing or selling robots to aid in panel installation or cleaning. MORE

Sep. 24, 2013

United States military, which helped kick-start the technology for self-driving cars, has lagged in deploying advances for its own purposes; spending cuts and technological challenges have left the military with virtually no chance of meeting goal to have a third of the combat fleet consist of unmanned road vehicles by 2015. MORE

Sep. 22, 2013

Maggie Koerth-Baker Eureka column on growing field of research called Human-Robot Interactions, which studies factors that make robots work well with humans; notes secret to creating robots with better social skills is by exploiting humans' tendency toward cognitive empathy, in which people predict what other beings are thinking by watching them move. MORE

Sep. 13, 2013

Chico MacMurtrie fashions his robot sculptures at Amorphic Robot Works studio in Red Hook, Brooklyn; robots will play in orchestra that will perform what he calls 'mass' in his 'Robotic Church' installation. MORE

Sep. 9, 2013

A study says that some cases of serious injuries involving robotically assisted surgeries performed by the da Vinci system were not reported to an F.D.A.-mandated database. MORE

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